De obsidione castri Sardewicz et occisione nongentorum Pomeranorum.
The Siege of Sardewicz and the Duke's Treachery
The duke, enraged by apostasy, lays siege to Sardewicz and then treacherously raids Colmen by night.
When this reached the ears of the said duke, he was deeply disturbed, and turning all his energy toward a campaign of vengeance, he summoned all the apostate converts of the land of Prussia and laid siege to the castle of Sardewicz, attacking it fiercely for five weeks with siege engines, arrows, and every other means at his disposal, which the brothers and others under siege manfully resisted. But because the same duke was full of every kind of deceit, he always acted treacherously. So that his wickedness might at last incur the hatred of God, he took the larger part of his army, leaving a smaller portion behind to maintain the siege, and crossed the ice of the Wisa in the dead of night, laying waste to the land of Colmen in many ways.
God's Mercy Turns the Battle
Brother Theodericus the marshal, trusting in God's mercy, defeats a far larger force and slays nine hundred men.
Brother Theodericus the marshal met him with a small force, trusting in the mercy of God — for it is easy for God to prevail with few or with many — and once battle was joined, struck them with no small blow.✦ He killed nine hundred men, put others to flight, and besides much other plunder, captured four hundred of the enemy's horses.
The Duke's Secret Return and the Marshal's Countermove
The humiliated duke returns secretly to the siege, prompting the marshal to coordinate a plan with the castle's defenders.
The duke, humiliated, returned with a small company to the other part of his army that he had left behind at the siege — so secretly that those besieged in the castle had no idea what had happened in the battle. So they sent a certain brother to the marshal to find out the truth of what had happened. The marshal sent him back with instructions: when the duke himself began the battle with his chosen troops from Swantepolc, they were to come down from the castle and join the fight, adding that whoever won this victory would take possession of the castle afterward.
The Shield Withdrawn: Swantepolc Flees in Terror
Swantepolc, recognizing that God's protection has abandoned him, dares not face the marshal and flees in disgrace.
So when the marshal was about to engage the duke's army again in battle, Swantepolcus, having clear signs and evidence from the first slaughter that God had terribly turned against him and that the shield of divine protection had withdrawn from him — of this he had no doubt — became fearful, and his heart grew so faint that, though he had many men, he did not dare to face even a small force in any way. Instead, he turned to flight and retreated in disgrace with his men.
Burning the Tents and Prudent Withdrawal
The marshal burns the enemy's tents but, wary of the duke's cunning, prudently withdraws after reinforcing the castle.
The marshal, seeing this, advanced gradually with his own men and burned the enemy's tents. Fearing the said duke's fraudulent malice and the cunning of the deceitful fox — which often outwits the hunter's skill — he did not dare to pursue the fugitives, but kept his army gathered together throughout the whole day, strengthening the breaches in the castle made by the attacks.1 Finally, in the evening, having left many men-at-arms there, he withdrew.
Read the original Latin
Cum autem hec ad aures dicti ducis devenirenta, ultra modum perturbatus fuit, et totum conatum suum in virus vindicte convertens, convocavit omnes neophitos apostatas terre Prussie et dictum castrum Sardewicz obsedit, et cum instrumentis bellicis, sagittis et aliis modis, quibus potuit, quinque septimanis fortissime impugnavit, quibus fratres et alii obsessi viriliter restiterunt. Sed quia idem dux omni dolo plenus fuit, semper dolose egit. Ut tandem iniquitas ejus dei odium inveniret, assumpsit majorem partem exercitus sui, relicta in obsidione parte altera, secrete noctis tempore transiit glaciem Wisele et terram Colmensem multipliciter depredavit. Cui frater Theodericus marscalcus cum paucis occurrit, confidens de dei misericordia, cui facile est concludere in paucis, aut in multis, et inito certamine percussit eos plaga non modica. Occidit enim nongentos viros, aliis in fugam conversis, et preter alia spolia, que multa fuerunt, cccc equos hostium conservavit. Dux autem confusus cum paucis rediit ad aliam partem exercitus sui, quam reliquerat in obsidione, tarn occulte, quod obsessi in Castro non poterant considerare, quodb actum fuerat in conflictu. Unde miserunt quendam fratrem ad marscalcum, qui experiri posset de eventu hujusmodi*5 * * * * * veritatem, qui marscalcus ipsum instructum remisitd, precipiens, ut quando ipse cum clicto exercitu Swantepolci inciperet bellum, ipsi de Castro descenderent et juvarent, addens, ete castrum possideat postea, qui hicf victoriam obtinebit. Marscalcus itaque dum exercitum ducis vellet invadere iterum in prelio, Swantepolcus ex prima strage habens certa indicia et signa evidencia deumg sibi terribiliter offensum, et divine protectionis clipeum a se recessisse non dubitans, meticulosus factus fuit, et adeo emarcuit cor ejus, quod ipse cum multis paucos non audebat aliqualiter expectare, sed in fugam conversus cum suis turpiter recedebat.
Marscalcus hoc videns paulatim cum suis processit et hostium tentoria conbussit. Timens dicti ducis fraudulentam maliciam, tamque dolose vulpis astuciam, que sepe fallit ingenium venatoris, non audebat sequi fugientes, sed per totam diem conservavit exercitum suum adunatum, firmans rupturas castri per impugnaciones factas. Tandem in vespere, relictis ibi pluribus armigeris, recessit.
Scripture echoes
- ↩1Sam.14.6 — And Jonathan said to the young man who bore his armor, "Come, let us cross over to the garrison of these uncircumcised ones. Perhaps the LORD will work for us, for there is no restraint upon the LORD to save by many or by few."
Notes
- 1 ↩The fox simile (dolose vulpis astuciam) is a vivid medieval trope for treachery; rendered literally to preserve the chronicler's voice.
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